Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus conveying a sheet and an image forming apparatus including the same.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus, in which a sheet tray is detachably mounted on an apparatus body and a sheet that is stacked in the sheet tray is fed by a pickup roller, is disclosed in JP-A-2014-88227. A sheet tray and a sheet-feeding mechanism including the same configuration as the above-described image forming apparatus are illustrated in FIG. 10.
A sheet-feeding mechanism 332 includes a separating roller 316, a pickup roller 308, and an abutting portion 350. The pickup roller 308 is swingably supported by a holder 347 about a roller shaft 343 of the separating roller 316. The abutting portion 350 is configured to interlock with the pickup roller 308 via a link 310.
A sheet tray 324 includes cams 324a, 324b, 324c, and 324d in a left end portion thereof. When the sheet tray 324 is mounted on an apparatus body, the abutting portion 350 engages with the cam 324d and the pickup roller 308 is positioned at a first position in which the pickup roller 308 abuts against a sheet that is stacked in the sheet tray 324. When the sheet tray 324 is removed from the apparatus body, the abutting portion 350 moves away from the cam 324a and the pickup roller 308 is positioned at a second position in which the pickup roller 308 moves upward away from the sheet that is stacked in the sheet tray 324 by an urging force of a spring 333.
By the way, in recent years, demand for a compact printer and a copier in the office or at home has been increasing. Thus it is desirable to downsize a sheet conveying apparatus, which is provided in the printer and the copier, in the height direction.
However, upon downsizing a product with that sheet-feeding mechanism 332, there is a concern that the holder 347 and the link 310 interfere with a conveyance guide provided above the pickup roller 308 in a case when the pickup roller 308 is moved from the first position to the second position. Thus, it has been difficult to achieve both downsizing of the product and ensuring a sufficient moving space for the pickup roller 308 to contact with and apart from the sheet.